Education as healing: addressing the trauma of displacement through social and emotional learning

The conditions under which migrants and refugees have to leave their homes and homelands can be traumatic in the extreme. Whether they have crossed the Mediterranean in an overcrowded and unsafe boat, been barricaded in a Syrian basement for protection from shelling, or been chased away from a burning village in Myanmar, the events of their departures and their journeys can leave scars on those affected – and none more than on children who have witnessed and experienced death, loss, violence, separation from family and prolonged insecurity. Even those fortunate enough to find a sanctuary often face further hardship or discrimination in their host communities that can exacerbate their vulnerability.